Method and system for display of guidance reference for traffic situational awareness

ABSTRACT

Situational Awareness and Guidance Reference (SAGR) and associated methods and systems are disclosed. A system in accordance to one embodiment of the disclosure includes a display system utilized for a traffic application and an SAGR associated with the own-ship symbol providing longitudinal and lateral guidance reference. In a manual implementation, the SAGR aids human operators achieve required longitudinal and lateral spacing from selected traffic by depicting a small operating region on a navigational map display within which an aircraft will have achieved the required spacing. Such depiction of the deviation guidance may be with respect to time or distance relative to selected traffic aircraft or to fixed structure, and engaged in an automatic or manual mode.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to display of guidancereference for situational awareness of airborne traffic and associatedsystems and methods.

BACKGROUND

Complex dynamical systems such as air traffic management and control arefacing increasing demands from private, commercial, and militaryoperations. Vehicles such as airplanes, ships, and other mobileplatforms are able to meet stringent safety, efficiency, and performancerequirements through the integration of complex on-board computersystems. Such complex on-board computer systems work not only with otheron-board equipment but must communicate with complex systems of othermobile or fixed platforms' computer systems. While such complex systemscan be designed to interact with each other in a variety of ways, theymust in the end be subject to supervisory review and control by a humanoperator. Thus, one prime goal of a traffic management and control toolis to help human operators guide their vehicle consistent with therequirements of the given traffic surveillance scenario.

Complex systems utilized for air traffic management, as well as,guidance and control often rely on human-machine interfaces to presentinformation to pilots and operators. One important human-machineinterface in traffic management, as well as, guidance and control ofvehicles such as aircraft is a display system that depicts informationnot only about the own-ship's state information but also about thetraffic environment including information on nearby traffic aircraft.While display systems have been designed to satisfy guidance and controlneeds for navigation purposes and traffic information needs forsurveillance purposes primarily separately, the increasing complexity ofair traffic management and control requirements is driving the need tointegrate the situational awareness information with aspects of displaysystems that present information on guidance and control of an aircraft.However, the increasing amount of available traffic information inrelation to the limited display space, as well as, the need for anintuitive guidance representation, often create a contention that posesa serious challenge of providing meaningful context to human operators.

Moreover, as an important human-machine interface, display systemsgenerally have to be shared between multiple applications, oftendisplaying the status information of multiple systems. For example, anaircraft depicted as a traffic symbol may transmit information suitablefor navigation, surveillance, and communication purposes. Suchinformation may be utilized, at various stages, partly by the own-ship'snavigation system, partly by the surveillance system, and partly by thecommunication system. The processed information may also be displayed atmultiple display interfaces. Thus, human operators such as pilots havethe difficult task of integrating the displayed information of multiplesystems in a meaningful and efficient way not only to gain situationalawareness of the traffic scenario but also to guide their vehicle in amanner consistent with the traffic scenario.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure addresses these challenges by displaying acontext-sensitive Situational Awareness Guidance Reference (SAGR) as aguidance cue suitable to the traffic situational awareness need at hand.In one embodiment, the SAGR aids human operators achieve requiredlongitudinal and lateral spacing from selected traffic by depicting asmall operating region on a navigational map display within which theairplane has achieved the required spacing.

A preferred system for displaying an aircraft's longitudinal and lateralspacing guidance comprises a surveillance system; a traffic applicationoperatively connected to the surveillance system; a cockpit displaysystem operatively connected to the traffic application; a flightcontrol input device operatively connected to the aircraft flightcontrol system; and a navigation system operatively connected to thetraffic application. A first input control input device is operativelyconnected to the traffic application, and a second control input deviceis operatively connected to the flight control system. A graphicalsymbol is displayed on the cockpit display system, wherein the graphicalsymbol comprises a guidance cue proximate to an own-ship symbol. Thelocation of the guidance cue is based on an own-ship's longitudinal andlateral position relative to position of one or more target aircraft,the target aircraft determined from selected traffic information.

In accordance with an aspect of this disclosure, the SAGR is displayedproximate to an own-ship symbol, depicting the location of the own-shiprelative to a required path or lane.

In accordance with another aspect of this disclosure, the SAGR isdisplayed proximate to the own-ship symbol, depicting the location ofthe own-ship relative to the required maintenance of longitudinalspacing with other traffic of interest.

In accordance with yet another aspect of this disclosure, the SAGR isdisplayed proximate to the own-ship symbol, depicting the location ofthe own-ship relative to the required maintenance of lateral spacingwith other traffic of interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of an advantageous embodiment of the systemscomponents according to the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a graphics display used for navigationand surveillance.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the use of the SAGR in a longitudinalspacing conditions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the use of the SAGR in a lateralspacing condition.

FIG. 5 represents several possible display locations for an advantageousembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for displayingSAGR symbology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Complex dynamical systems such as air traffic management and control arefacing increasing demands from private, commercial and militaryoperations. Vehicles such as airplanes, ships, and other mobileplatforms have addressed such demands that include stringent safety,efficiency, and performance requirements through the integration ofcomplex on-board systems. For example, navigation and surveillanceon-board equipment has evolved from simple equipment such as compasses,automatic direction finders, and Mode A/C transponders to more advancedequipment using capabilities such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS)and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). Guidance andcontrol indicators have also evolved from older federatedelectromechanical attitude indicators and horizontal situationindicators to more integrated electronic primary flight displays thatdisplay, for example, not only the attitude indicator but additionalinformation helpful for guiding the aircraft such as aircraft pitchlimit indicators, flight path vector indicators, and collision avoidanceindicators.

Such complex on-board systems not only work with other on-boardequipment but also communicate with complex systems of other mobile orfixed-platform computer systems. For example, GPS-based on-boardnavigation equipment is enabled by GPS satellites, and potentially, alsoby ground-based augmentation systems. ADS-B based surveillance equipmentis also enabled by a number of systems including GPS, InertialNavigation Systems (INS), surveillance systems such as Mode Select (ModeS), Universal Access Transceiver (UAT), and VHF Datalink Mode 4 (VDL-4),and potentially, communications systems such as VHF Datalink, HFDatalink, or other datalink systems.

As datalink capabilities of aircraft increase, the amount ofsurveillance information and communication information that can be madeavailable to the flight crew also increase. In contrast to past airtraffic controller and flight crew radio (voice) communications such asVHF voice and HF voice communications, for example, Controller PilotData Link Communications (CPDLC) is now also used to transmitcommunication data between air traffic controllers and pilots. Such datais automatically loaded into airplane systems such as the FlightManagement Computer (FMC) for further acceptance, processing, andproviding textual information to the pilot for achieving tasks such asmaintaining required spacing. Thus, there is a need to integrate thisadditional information in a useful way such that a human operator canutilize it to guide his or her own vehicle.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of such complex on-board systems from thevantage point of an on-board system for traffic surveillance system.FIG. 1 has been simplified in order to make it easier to understand thepresent disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that FIG. 1is one configuration of many that can be implemented for an embodimentof an on-board traffic surveillance system. For example, a trafficapplication 34 can be hosted on a number of on-board computers suitablefor the airplane configuration at hand such as a dedicated trafficapplication computer (not shown), a surveillance system 30, or a displaysystem 28, which typically comprises at least a graphics displaycomputer and a graphics display. In various embodiments, as shown inFIG. 5, the display system may include at least one of a NavigationDisplay (ND) 132, a Heads-Up Display (HUD) 136, an Electronic Flight Bag(EFB) display 130, and a Multi-Function Display (MFD) 134 or otherdisplays in the flight deck.

Referring to FIG. 1, a surveillance system 30 is provided to receivetraffic information of other aircraft and vehicles and to transmittraffic information of own aircraft. Such traffic information mayinclude data such as aircraft identification, aircraft position, speed,and planned trajectory that may be displayed as a function of thetraffic application 34 engaged by the crew. An aircraft may havemultiple traffic applications such as Traffic Alert and CollisionAvoidance System (TCAS), Sequencing an Merging (S&M), and Final Approachand Runway Occupancy Awareness (FAROA). Further, control devices 32 suchas control panels, keyboards, cursor control devices, line select keys(LSK) or other keys on a control display unit (CDU), or touch-screendevices may also be provided to control and configure the trafficapplication 34 that processes the traffic data received from thesurveillance system 30. Control devices 32 may also be used to selecttraffic on the display system 28 for further processing or action.

In addition, the traffic application 34 obtains own-ship navigationinformation from an aircraft's navigation system 36 or related systemssuch as the flight management computer (not shown). Navigationinformation may include data such as own-ship position, speed, orplanned trajectory. Navigation information may be used by the trafficapplication 34 for a number of functions including further processing oftraffic information coming from other aircraft, transmitting own-shipinformation to other aircraft, or presenting information to a humanoperator 22 on a display system 28 for situational awareness or crewaction.

Lastly, the traffic application 34 may be operable to obtaincommunication information from an aircraft's datalink-basedcommunications system 38 such as those enabled by VHF Datalink, HFDatalink, or other datalink systems such as those enabled by Wi-Fi orWiMAX. Datalink communications may include communication data from othertraffic aircraft that augment the traffic information that is receivedby the surveillance system 30. For example, the datalink communicationmay include pilot requests for certain crew communication such asconfirmation of aircraft identification and request for information suchas trajectory planning information or weather information that may bemore suitable for the communications system 38 than the surveillancesystem 30. The traffic application will correlate the trafficinformation coming from the surveillance system 30 and the communicationinformation coming from the communications system 38 and present thecorrelated information in a suitable format on the display system 28.Such correlation may also be aided by the crew via control devices 32 orother components of the communication system 38.

While the components of complex systems such as those depicted in FIG. 1can be designed to interact with each other in a variety of ways, theymust in the end be subject to supervisory control by a human operator 22such as a pilot. Such supervisory control may be achieved by the humanoperator 22 who integrates the information of the various systems andutilizes flight control input devices 24 such as a control column and amode control panel (MCP) via manual or autopilot-assisted means tomanage aircraft control systems 26 that guide and control the aircraft.The human operator's actions and some of the resultant change in theaircraft's state such as changes in speed, attitude, and altitude may betransmitted via other aircraft subsystems such as an Air Data andInertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) (not shown) to the display system forvisual feedback.

Key to considering potential control actions or guiding an aircraft inthe context of complex air traffic management scenarios is the humanoperator's 22 situational awareness of the relevant nearby traffic. Oneimportant human-machine interface in traffic management is a displaysystem 28 that depicts information not only about the own-ship state butalso about the traffic environment including information on nearbytraffic aircraft. But because the display system 28 may also displayinformation coming from a variety of systems such as the navigationsystem 36 and the communication system 38, the amount of informationrelative to the limited display space often creates a contention thatposes a serious challenge of providing meaningful context to humanoperators.

FIG. 2 depicts one mode of a display system 28 used for navigation,surveillance, and guidance purposes. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that FIG. 2 depicts one configuration of many that can beimplemented for an embodiment of a shared display system. The displaysystem indicates that the navigation source is GPS 92. The TFCdesignation 90 also shows a traffic application is selected to bedisplayed.

Referring to FIG. 2, those skilled in the art may recognize that currentmode of the display system is primarily navigational. Although notshown, the display system can be engaged to display weather systems,terrain, or other data. In the current map mode, the display system 28shows an expanded compass rose 66, range scale 60, a current headingpointer 64, an own-ship symbol 50, ground speed 78, true airspeed 80,current track 58, track-up indication 82, and magnetic reference 62.Furthermore, the display shows a position trend vector 56, a VOR pointer68, selected heading indicator 70, VNAV path pointer and deviation scale72, wind arrow 74, wind direction and speed 76, active waypoint 84,estimated time to active waypoint 86, and current distance to activewaypoint 88. Lastly, still referring to FIG. 2, the surveillanceinformation presented include a lead airplane 54, shown ahead of theown-ship symbol. A Situational Awareness Guidance Reference (SAGR) 52 isshown in a preferred embodiment bracketing the own-ship symbol.

The traffic configuration shown in FIG. 2 has only one traffic symboldepicting a lead airplane 54 and with a 20 mile display range. However,in modern aircraft the display range can vary from very low to verylarge distances such as from 0.25 nautical miles to more than 1000nautical miles. Furthermore, there could be several traffic symbolsdepicting traffic aircraft. Thus, when the display system 28 is sharedbetween navigation and surveillance applications, the presentation ofthe traffic aircraft and the available situational awareness tools bywhich human operators can guide their aircraft in relation to othertraffic aircraft presents a technical challenge.

Consequently, for certain traffic applications that require betterdisplay accuracy of the traffic aircraft than can be afforded by theselected display range for navigation purposes or by other limitationsof the display system, human operators 22 such as pilots are faced witha difficult task of ascertaining the location of traffic aircraft to thedesired accuracy such that they can guide and control their aircraft inrelation the desired traffic aircraft such as a lead airplane 54. Thus,there is a need to aid human operators 22 who have the difficult task ofintegrating the displayed information of multiple systems such as thoseshown in FIG. 2 in a meaningful and efficient way to gain situationalawareness of the traffic scenario and to guide their aircraft inrelation to the depicted traffic scenario.

The present disclosure addresses this challenge in a meaningful way bydisplaying a Situational Awareness Guidance Reference (SAGR) 52 suitableto the traffic situational awareness and guidance need at hand. The SAGR52, displayed on or proximate to the own-ship symbol 50, indicates tothe pilot how to guide the aircraft relative to another aircraft such asa lead airplane 54, such that the own-ship symbol is preferably centeredwithin the SAGR.

FIG. 3 provides an example of how an SAGR 102 is used. As depicted inFIG. 3, an own-ship symbol 100 in relation to the SAGR 102 is slightlybehind the SAGR 102 in the longitudinal direction along its own track106. This indicates to the pilot that the own-ship is slightly behind inthe longitudinal direction than where it should be in relation to thetraffic of interest, which in this case, is the lead airplane 104. Thepilot can manually engage the necessary controls to bring his airplaneto increase speed such that the own-ship symbol is centered within theSAGR.

The SAGR 52, 102 can be utilized in several different trafficapplication implementations. Although longitudinal and lateral deviationmay typically be in terms of distance, it could be calculated in termsof time as well. In one aspect of the disclosure, the SAGR 52, 102 canbe displayed to guide the human operator to achieve certain timeobjectives. For example, the human operator may have a requirement to beat the location of the lead airplane 54, 104 in a certain amount oftime. In this regard, the SAGR can be displayed to reflect position ofown-ship such that it reaches the lead airplane's current position bythe required time. Thus, all the human operator need do is place theown-ship symbol at the center of the SAGR. The human operator can engagethe necessary control input so as to achieve the objective.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the SAGR 52, 102 may be displayedto guide the human operator to achieve a certain spacing distance formaintaining certain spacing from other aircraft. For example, the humanoperator may have a requirement to be behind the lead airplane 54, 104by a certain amount of longitudinal distance. In this regard, the SAGRcan be displayed to reflect position of own-ship relative to therequired spatial position for the spacing required by the application.The human operator can then engage the necessary control input so as toachieve the objective.

In a similar manner, if the objective is to maintain a certain lateraldistance next to the traffic aircraft of interest, the SAGR 52, 102 canbe displayed such that control input consistent with the SAGR guidancewill achieve the maintenance of the required lateral distance.

In yet a further aspect of the disclosure, the SAGR 52, 102 can bedisplayed to provide guidance for both longitudinal and lateral spacing.For example, during a parallel approach operation to parallel runways,it may be necessary for the airplane to be a certain longitudinaldistance from the lead airplane 54. In this regard, the SAGR not onlyprovides longitudinal spacing but also helps the pilot stay in theassigned lane for the particular runway. The SAGR can be enhanced toprovide alerting if the pilot strays from the lane or violates spacingby change of color or some other cautionary or warning indication toalert the pilot. In this case, the SAGR 52, 102 can be displayed suchthat control input consistent with the SAGR guidance will achieve themaintenance of the required longitudinal and lateral spacing.

FIG. 4 depicts a simplified version of one example of an SAGR use inrelation to final approach. FIG. 4 depicts an own-ship symbol 110, atrack line 116, a lead airplane 114, a runway 118, and a runwaycenterline 120. As can be seen in relation to the track line 116, theown-ship symbol 110 is slightly to the left of the lead airplane 114, aswell as, the runway centerline 120. The SAGR 112 shows the own-shipsymbol slightly to the left. The pilot may reference the SAGR 112 tosteer the airplane slightly to the right such that the own-ship symbolis centered within the SAGR 112.

Thus, the SAGR 52, 102, 112 can aid the human operator 22 in acquiringimproved situational awareness beyond what is provided by the trafficsymbols such as lead airplane's 54, 104, 114 and regardless of the rangesetting of the map display. Once the targeted traffic airplane isselected using a control device 32, the human operator can achieve thedesired situational awareness and guidance objectives by flying theairplane consistent with indications by the SAGR 52, 102, 112.

Another important aspect of the disclosure is the ability to apply thedisclosure in a context-sensitive manner. The sensitivity, which can bein terms of time, distance, or other parameter of interest, can dependon factors such as phase of flight or any critical task for which theflight crew needs improved situational awareness and guidance.Accordingly, the sensitivity may be set by a control device 32 or bysystems automation. For example, the SAGR may function to providelongitudinal and lateral deviation with respect to descending aircrafton final approach but may disengage once the lead aircraft has toucheddown, has executed a missed approach, or when the lead airplane is nolonger a factor.

FIG. 6 depicts a general method by which the disclosure may beimplemented. The display of traffic symbology and guidance on displaysystems such as those utilized by Traffic Alert and Collision AvoidanceSystems (TCAS) have been previously implemented in industry. Thoseskilled in the art would understand how the placement of displaysymbology would be accomplished, and that the depiction herein is one ofseveral possible methods of displaying traffic symbology. First, a humanoperator 22 initiates a traffic application 200. Alternatively, anon-board computer may automatically initiate the traffic application 200as a function of phase of flight. This initiation step may range fromsimply turning on the system, choosing one traffic application from aplurality of available traffic applications, or in the case ofinitiating different modes of a previously selected application,selecting traffic symbols via a control device 32, or providing theapplication additional information from another system such as thenavigation system 36 or the communication system 38.

Next, the traffic application receives traffic information 210 of otheraircraft via the surveillance system 30, and optionally, thecommunication system 38. Furthermore, the traffic application 34receives or gets updates of navigation data from the navigation systemto determine own-ship position and process traffic information forselection and display 220. After receiving the traffic information ofother aircraft and position updates of own-ship, the traffic application34 processes the traffic data for display and displays the trafficsymbols such as the lead airplane 54.

Following the display of the traffic symbols, a traffic symbol ofinterest is selected 230 such as via a control device 32. The humanoperator may determine which traffic symbol to select via simple visualacquisition from the display or may utilize information communicated viathe communication system such as a CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data LinkCommunication) message, radio communication from air traffic control, orany other relevant information.

Once the traffic of interest such as a lead airplane 54 is selected, thetraffic application computes the relevant parameter of interest 240 suchas longitudinal and lateral distance deviation from the selectedtraffic. The deviation is then used to display the SAGR symbol 250relative to the own-ship symbol and the selected traffic. The SAGRsymbol may be represented as a pair of brackets, a rectangle, or anotherdisplayed graphical or textual indicator known to those skilled in theart.

Once the SAGR is displayed, its utilization by the flight crew to guidetheir airplane relative to the selected traffic depends on whethermanual or autoflight controls are engaged 260. If the human operator isflying the airplane manually 270, they can engage a number of controlinputs such as throttle levers and control wheels, for example, to speedup or slow down the airplane and steer the airplane respectivelyconsistent with the SAGR. Alternatively, if the human operator hasengaged autopilot functions 280, the autothrottle or functions of themode control panel may engage to speed up, slow down, or steer theairplane so as to cause the own-ship symbol to comply with the guidanceof the SAGR. Alternatively, control input may be uplinked to the flightcrew from Air Traffic Control. Lastly, the traffic application updates290 the SAGR as a function of the control input and associated change inthe airplane state such as position or speed relative to the selectedtraffic.

It is important to note that the display of the SAGR, depending on theengaged traffic application, the phase of flight, or other engagedautomation functions, can be made to be context-sensitive. For example,if the SAGR is being used on phase of flight such as a final approach tofollow the lead airplane at a certain distance, the SAGR can be causedto be removed or change colors when the lead airplane lands and thelongitudinal distance or time spacing is no longer relevant. A similarcontext-sensitive embodiment may be used for parallel runway approaches.

While preferred embodiments have been described above and depicted inthe drawings, other depictions of traffic symbols and SAGRs can beutilized in various embodiments of the disclosure. The color andgeometric shape of traffic symbol and the SAGR can be varied withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims. Furthermore, various displays, surveillance systems, navigationsystems, and communication systems may be engaged to provide thenecessary input for the traffic application in use.

In other embodiments of the disclosure, the SAGR and display of trafficand navigation information, for example, may be simulated in a trainingsimulator or in a desktop application as desired.

In summary, the disclosure addresses the operational challenge ofproviding context-sensitive situational awareness and associatedguidance by displaying a Situational Awareness Guidance Reference (SAGR)suitable to the traffic situational awareness need at hand. The SAGRaids human operators achieve required longitudinal and lateral spacingfrom selected traffic by depicting a small operating region on anavigational map display within which the airplane is guaranteed to haveachieved the required spacing. Such depiction may be in time or distancerelative to own-ship or to fixed structure, and engaged in an automaticor manual mode.

1. A system for displaying a graphical symbol indicating an own-shipvehicle's desired position relative to at least one other trafficvehicle comprising: a guidance cue displayed proximate to an own-shipsymbol on a navigation map display wherein a location of the guidancecue is based on the own-ship's longitudinal and lateral positionrelative to a position of the at least one other traffic vehicledisplayed on the navigation map display.
 2. A system for displaying anown-ship aircraft's longitudinal and lateral spacing guidance relativeto at least one other target aircraft, comprising: a surveillancesystem; a traffic application operatively connected to said surveillancesystem, said traffic application providing traffic information; acockpit display system operatively connected to said trafficapplication; a navigation system operatively connected to said trafficapplication; a first control input device operatively connected to saidtraffic application; a second control input device operatively connectedto a flight control system; and a graphical symbol displayed on saidcockpit display system, wherein said graphical symbol comprises aguidance cue located proximate to an own-ship symbol on a navigation mapdisplay, the location of the guidance cue based on the own-ship'slongitudinal and lateral position relative to a position of the at leastone other target aircraft displayed on the navigation map display, saidtarget aircraft position determined from traffic information provided bysaid traffic application.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein said selectedtraffic information includes airborne vehicle traffic data.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said selected traffic information includeson-ground vehicle traffic data.
 5. The system of claim 2 wherein saidselected traffic information includes both airborne vehicle andon-ground vehicle traffic data.
 6. The system of claim 2 wherein saidguidance cue comprises a pair of square brackets, said square bracketsfurther including color-coded indications depicting guidance.
 7. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said cockpit display system is at least one ofa Navigation Display (ND), a Heads-Up Display (HUD), an ElectronicFlight Bag (EFB) display, and a Multi-Function Display (MFD).
 8. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said first control input device is at leastone of a control panel, a keyboard, a cursor with a cursor controldevice, line select keys (LSK) on a control display unit, and atouchscreen.
 9. The system of claim 2 wherein said navigation systemcomprises a GPS unit.
 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising anelectronic map display.
 11. A method for providing an aircraft guidancetool for a traffic application on an own-ship aircraft's cockpit displaysystem, comprising: initiating a traffic application; receiving trafficinformation from other traffic aircraft; processing said trafficinformation; selecting at least one target aircraft from said othertraffic aircraft; determining longitudinal and lateral deviation ofown-ship position relative to said at least one target aircraftdisplayed on a navigation map display; displaying at least onenavigation map display guidance cue indicating needed control input toachieve a desired longitudinal and lateral spacing between own-shipaircraft and the at least one target aircraft; processing control inputaccording to said at least one navigation map display guidance cue; andupdating said at least one navigation map display guidance cue based onsaid processed control input.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein saidtraffic information comprises at least one of TCAS, Mode A/C, Mode S,ADS-B, UAT, VDL, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX data.
 13. The method of claim 11wherein processing control input is performed manually or automaticallywhen autopilot is engaged, and said needed control input is used todetermine said control input for processing.
 14. The method of claim 11wherein processing said traffic information comprises a surveillancesystem containing a traffic application software program and operativelyconnected to the cockpit display system.
 15. The method of claim 11wherein processing said traffic information comprises said cockpitdisplay system containing a traffic application software program. 16.The method of claim 11 wherein processing said traffic informationfurther comprises transforming said received traffic information fordisplay for a plurality of traffic applications.
 17. The method of claim16 further comprising augmenting said guidance cue with guidanceparameter data, wherein said guidance parameter data includes timespacing and distance spacing.
 18. The method of claim 11 wherein saidtraffic application is initiated by an on-board computer as a functionof phase of flight.
 19. The method of claim 11 wherein initiating saidtraffic application comprises initiating a different mode of apreviously selected application and selecting target traffic via acontrol device.
 20. The method of claim 11 wherein said control input isuplinked to a flight crew.
 21. The method of claim 11 wherein displayingsaid at least one guidance cue is simulated on a flight simulator. 22.The method of claim 11 wherein displaying said at least one guidance cueis simulated on a desktop computer.
 23. A method of indicating a desiredpositioning of an own-ship vehicle relative to at least one othertraffic vehicle on a display comprising: displaying an own-ship positionon a navigation map display, said own-ship position represented by afirst vehicle symbol; displaying at least one traffic vehicle positionon said navigation map display, represented by at least one secondvehicle symbol; determining a desired own-ship position relative to saidat least one traffic vehicle position; and displaying a guidance cue onsaid navigation map display, wherein said guidance cue indicates wheresaid first vehicle symbol should be located to achieve said desiredown-ship vehicle position relative to said at least one traffic vehicleposition.